1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to composite material part manufacturing processes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Composite materials are increasingly being used to manufacture parts in many industries to reduce the weight of the parts while at the same time increasing the strength of the parts as compared with previously used materials, such as metals. During a composite material part forming process, composite material may be placed or layed up on a male tool, such as a fiber placement mandrel. Laying up composite material on the male tool may form an uncured composite material part. In order to cure the uncured composite material part, the part and the male tool may be placed in a female tool, with the uncured composite material part being positioned between the female tool and the male tool. After the cure, the composite material part may be measured to verify the quality of the part.
The dimensions of the composite material part may not match designed values due to a number of factors, such as portions of the male tool being improperly sized, portions of the female tool being improperly sized, combinations thereof, or other anomalies. Replacing the male tool or the female tool can be prohibitively expensive. In some cases, shims may be used during the assembly of parts to compensate for any anomalies. As a result, correcting the problems associated with improperly sized composite material parts creates extra work and costs extra money and time.